The Patriot Post® · Selling Socialism

By Gary Bauer ·
https://patriotpost.us/opinion/65294-selling-socialism-2019-09-06

Anyone who tuned in to CNN Wednesday witnessed an incredible spectacle. Ten progressives engaged in a “marathon town hall” on climate change, of course, using Hurricane Dorian as the backdrop.

One thing was abundantly clear from the hours and hours of hot air: The left is all in on using fear to sell socialism.

If we don’t massively raise taxes, if we don’t impose onerous regulations on businesses and your personal life, if we don’t spend incomprehensible amounts of money… we’re all going to die in 12 years.

The left has been telling us for decades that we only have 12 years left. The longer this goes on, the more shrill it gets and the more it wants to make your life miserable.

We laughed when it banned plastic straws and bags. But Kamala Harris wants to limit how much red meat you can eat.

Never to be outdone, Bernie “Thanos” Sanders said that population control was the answer. Translation: We need to kill the babies so they don’t grow up and die from climate change.

And why not? After all, the left insists that humans are causing climate change. So we are the “virus” infecting the planet, and it is humanity that must be controlled. Once you understand the left’s logic, you can see the madness to its method. (And it’s scary!)

The New York Times was really impressed by the “tough questions” asked by young voters. One audience member accused energy industry executives of committing “crimes against humanity.” Another attacked the evil “beef and dairy industries” because cow farts are killing the planet too.

And don’t worry if you lose your job due to the “painful and uncomfortable changes” mandated by the left’s Stalinist climate plans. They are also promising us guaranteed incomes and free healthcare too in the new utopia that will be powered presumably by unicorn farts!

Here’s the ultimate irony: America is leading the way in the reduction of carbon emissions without all these big-government schemes.

Aiding the Recovery

President Trump held a White House briefing Wednesday on U.S. efforts to assist the Bahamas in the wake of Dorian’s destruction. The first Coast Guard helicopters arrived on Monday and Coast Guard cutters have begun transporting desperately needed supplies.

In addition, FEMA is prepared to assist the Carolinas with thousands of mobilized National Guard troops and 40,000 utility workers ready to get power restored.

It occurred to me that it was our carbon-based energy economy that powered the rockets that put the satellites into space that have allowed us to warn people in the path of Hurricane Dorian days before it arrived.

It is the modern aircraft, ships and helicopters — all powered by fossil fuels — that are rescuing people now and enabling them to survive in the aftermath of the storm. The injured will be cared for in hospitals that require massive amounts of electricity.

One extremely generous Floridian purchased 100 generators at a Jacksonville Costco and is sending them to a friend in one of the worst hit areas. Those generators require gasoline, which is derived from oil — a fossil fuel.

People evacuated the east coast of the United States in gas-powered cars and trucks. They were able to use cell phones powered by batteries and supported by massive data centers, which are in turn powered by coal, natural gas, and nuclear power.

They stayed in hotels or the homes of friends and family members that are made comfortable by coal, natural gas, and nuclear power. Along the way, they probably ate at restaurants that also require large amounts of electricity to prepare hundreds of meals a day.

What if the Bahamas were carbon free? Solar power likely would have run out days before Dorian hit due to the massive cloud cover. And the windmills would have all been destroyed.

My point is simply this: The left is consumed with self-loathing hatred for the very thing that makes every aspect of modern life possible, not to mention enjoyable. Demands that we ban fossil fuels are delusional and unrealistic.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Just ask the taxpayers of Georgetown, Texas.

Kudos to McConnell

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to fight the left’s stranglehold over the federal courts. Speaking with Hugh Hewitt Tuesday, McConnell vowed to do everything in his power to fill a Supreme Court vacancy this year or next year should the opportunity arise.

As you may know, Justice Ginsburg, who just finished treatment for a recurrence of pancreatic cancer, is 86 and Justice Breyer is 81. Just to be clear, I wish no ill will on either liberal justice. I truly hope that they enjoy a long and healthy retirement.

McConnell also recently organized a letter signed by all 53 members of the GOP Senate caucus to the Supreme Court. The reason for the letter was to rebuke Senate Democrats for threatening the independence of the judiciary.

A few weeks ago, several Senate liberals warned the Supreme Court that it was “sick” and needed to “heal” itself by issuing opinions Democrats liked or they would “restructure” the court to “reduce the influence of politics.”

In other words, they would pack the court with more liberal judges to undo the results of the 2016 elections and Trump’s appointments of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. (How’s that for reducing the influence of politics!)

Leader McConnell and all Republican senators urged the justices “not to be cowed by the threats of opportunistic politicians.” And they vowed, “While we remain members of this body, the Democrats’ threat to ‘restructure’ the court is an empty one.”